A trauma-informed discipleship
arm of the Body of Christ.
The Pneuma Group is a trauma-informed discipleship arm of the Body of Christ, started by licensed clinicians — folding the science of mental and physical healing into Biblical discipleship programs. We start with wounds — and stories — not with a list of things you need to stop doing, like swearing and smoking. Because in the self-awareness and healing is where we meet Christ and are transformed — not the other way around. And because you shouldn't have to choose between Jesus and your therapist.
We were not built for a world with death and evil. Trauma is exposure to death and/or evil in any form — and its impact on the mind, body, soul, spirit, and will.
”We all live somewhere on this line.
The Spectrum of Exposure · a framework by Sarah Probst, LPC-S
Some of us have been highly exposed to death and evil (trauma) — the least of these, the priority of the Kingdom. Some of our stories have unfolded inside more holy environments that were safe, loving, and kind, with far less impact on the mind, body, soul, spirit, and will. Discipleship is knowing where we each stand on this spectrum — and the journey down the line toward Christ: healing every part as we are exposed to less evil and more of what is holy.
"Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." MATTHEW 25:40
The Kingdom's Priority List
"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress."
JAMES 1:27"A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families."
PSALM 68:5–6"Remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering."
HEBREWS 13:3"Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow."
ISAIAH 1:17"He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free."
LUKE 4:18"I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in."
MATTHEW 25:35Science caught up to Scripture. Somebody should say so.
The secular-research world has compiled a mother-lode of data about how humans are not only impacted by The Fall — but also how we heal from it. They are studying trauma and making magnificent observations about how people become more like Christ — they simply aren’t linking those observations to Scripture. The Pneuma Group exists to make that link.
We are a church whose discipleship incorporates every bit of mental and physical healing God has placed on the earth today — EMDR that harvests deception from the belief system and replaces it with truth, because Jesus is the Truth; neurofeedback that gently guides the brain back to the frequencies God designed; and a community where healing from The Fall and becoming like Christ are understood as the same road.
We were built for eternity. We were not built for relationships to end — and none of us were designed for the death and evil we’ve been exposed to. So this is a safe space to look at that honestly, become compassionate toward ourselves, and only then love our neighbor as ourselves, the way Jesus instructed.
Since Genesis, God has been doing two things at once: offering grace and salvation to human beings, while working to limit — and one day destroy — evil itself. Unless the church heals the residue of evil in ourselves and unites against evil himself, we will always fall.
"If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand."
MARK 3:25Understanding our trauma through a Biblical lens.
Trauma-informed. Neuroscience-integrated. Christ-centered. We understand trauma as exposure to death and/or evil in any form, and its impact on the mind, body, soul, spirit, and will. Discipleship, then, is the process of healing from those effects across the whole person — healing from The Fall and becoming like Christ are the same road. Our model rests on three commitments:
Grounded in Evidence
The approaches we teach are grounded in evidence — EMDR, neurofeedback, qEEG brain mapping, and trauma-focused research — drawn from real clinical experience and held to professional standards.
Biblical Grounding
Science and Scripture describe the same wound and the same healing — we read them together. Spiritual integration is always offered with consent and respect for every person’s dignity, never imposed.
An Arm of the Body of Christ
We are an arm of the Body of Christ — the Church — and we exist to create space for the people who left because they didn’t find trauma-informed care. Healing happens in belonging; no one heals alone.
We don't start with behaviors like smoking or drinking — we start with wounds, because in the healing is where we experience Christ. There will be no list of things you cannot do here. The only list we will ever ask of you is this one: a list of every evil that has touched your life, examined with curiosity instead of shame, until you understand the lies believed during that exposure — and take back what the enemy tried to destroy.
What we are not.
Radical compassion gets misread. So let's say it plainly — The Pneuma Group is not:
Promoting sin — or making excuses for immorality.
Letting grace abound so sin can continue. Paul answered that one directly: "By no means!"
Deconstructing out of our faith. We are healing deeper into it.
Leaving Jesus — or the Bible. Christ is the Truth every healing tool depends on.
A place to keep sinning comfortably. Healing is the point — and healing is what loosens sin's grip.
What we are: a church where compassion and truth work together — where self-awareness leads us to love our neighbors as ourselves, where the will itself is healed, and where every part of us is being formed into the image of Christ. Grace isn't permission to stay wounded. It's the power that allows us to be transformed.
"What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means!" ROMANS 6:1–2
Mind. Body. Soul. Spirit. Will.
Exposure to death and evil impacts all five — so healing has to reach all five. This is discipleship for the whole person, and it organizes everything we do.
Mind
Trauma plants lies in the belief system and knocks the brain out of tune. EMDR harvests the deception and replaces it with truth. Neurofeedback re-tunes the brainwaves to the frequencies God designed. Integration brings the mind back into one whole.
Body
The links between autoimmune disease and exposure to death and evil are undeniable — trauma lives in the body. Functional medicine is advancing in restoring the body's own God-given ability to heal and defend against illness.
Soul
If exposure to death and evil is severe enough — and frequent enough — it can cause a soul fracture that impacts even the personality. The soul doesn't need coping skills. It needs restoration.
Spirit
Long after deliverance has cast the demon out, our spirit — in partnership with the Holy Spirit — still has work to do: healing the mind, the body, the soul, and the will, and learning to connect with the Trinity through the spiritual disciplines.
Will
The most frequent objection to Christ-centered, trauma-informed discipleship is: "What about free will?" After more than a decade as a trauma therapist, I've come to see that the will itself is significantly impacted by exposure to death and evil. One person's will to refuse meth and another person's will to refuse meth cannot be considered equally free. The will is a nuanced mechanism — and like the air conditioning in your car, a mechanism can break and a mechanism can be fixed. The will can be wounded. And the will can be healed.
Watch neurofeedback tune the brain.
When truth reigns in your conscious mind and safety is restored, your brain may still be lagging — it needs to be fine-tuned. One of the main reasons Christ was mentally well is that truth reigned in His mind. Because Christ is the Truth.
Exposure to the fallen world leaves our brainwaves like a hundred-year-old piano that has been played every day and never tuned. One of the greatest technologies ever invented is neurofeedback — a tuning mechanism for the brain, built on God's own design. It simply shows the brain its own reflection, through the eyes and ears, and relies on the brain to know what to do with it — the same way your brain knows to pull your hand away from something hot before you've even thought about it.
"He restores my soul." PSALM 23:3
Jesus led with compassion first.
He practiced healing, compassion, and forgiveness first. The people most highly exposed to death and evil were the ones Jesus hung out with — and the ones who radically followed Him.
Grace is not something to be misused so we can keep on sinning. But some of us have been highly exposed to the evils of this world with very little compassion or understanding. So here, we get to know our own stories with curiosity — not judgment, not condemnation. We get to know each other's stories in safe places, where we can speak openly about how life in a fallen world has shaped our behaviors, our addictions, even our relationships.
And we fold neuroscientific, empirical research into our discipleship programs — to accelerate the process of becoming more like Christ.
The compassion of Jesus Christ is the most radical force in the world — and it is the model we are built on. He met people in their wounds first, and walked with them into healing and transformation.
So many people today are seeking healing from trauma outside the church — and we believe the church has a beautiful opportunity to welcome that healing home. The research world has learned so much about the science of compassion; our calling is to reunite it with its source.
Let's be clear: this church does not exist to make excuses for sin, or to help anyone stay in their addictions and habits. It exists to do exactly the opposite — to help every one of us move down the spectrum of becoming more like Christ, by folding neuroscientific modalities that rapidly accelerate healing, grounded in Biblical truth, into robust discipleship programs. We exist to normalize self-reflection and self-awareness — so that we become significantly more useful in the Kingdom.
EMDR belongs to Christ.
Because EMDR does not work without truth. It cannot install a lie — the brain refuses it. It can only harvest deception from the belief system and replace it with what is actually true. So when Jesus said "I am the Truth," He claimed the very ground this therapy stands on.
Trauma plants lies during exposure to death and evil. EMDR pulls them out — and replaces them with truth. And the Truth will set you free. Watch what healing does to a belief system:
“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” JOHN 8:32
What we're building.
Training & Equipping Churches
We train and equip churches to incorporate trauma-informed, neuroscientific approaches into their own discipleship programs — so every congregation can care well for the wounded.
Understanding EMDR & the Belief System
Teaching how trauma plants lies in the belief system — and how EMDR harvests that deception and replaces it with truth. And the Truth will set you free.
Watch what healing does to a belief systemUnderstanding Neurofeedback & God's Design
God designed brainwaves to operate within specific frequencies. We teach how neurofeedback gently guides them home — informed by thousands of clinical hours at BrainParlor™.
Watch neurofeedback tune the brainTrauma-Informed Discipleship Groups
Trauma-informed groups and teaching on the brain, the body, and healing — gathering online to start, open to anyone.
Worship & Discipleship
A community where science and faith serve side by side — spiritual formation, biblical literacy, and gatherings built to be safe for wounded people.
See the Spectrum of ExposureTrauma-Informed Church Curriculum
Curriculum and resources any church can fold into its own discipleship — extending the work of Trauma Informed Christians.
Here to strengthen the Church — not compete with it.
In the coming months we'll begin gathering on Zoom — a trauma-informed discipleship arm of the Body of Christ whose programs incorporate neuroscience and the empirical research of clinical psychology, and synthesize it with Biblical theology. No building to raise money for, no congregation to compete for. Just people learning to heal, together.
Our founding team draws on more than a decade of clinical practice at Pneuma Counseling & Neurofeedback in Louisiana, and a growing community of licensed clinicians, ministry leaders, and neighbors who believe science and faith were never enemies.
We exist to be a complement to the local church — helping churches understand trauma, and walking alongside the enormous number of people who have left, so they can heal and find their way back to Christ.
NOW — GATHERING ONLINE
Zoom gatherings, teaching, and a growing community healing through trauma-informed discipleship.
NEXT — EQUIPPING CHURCHES
Trauma-informed training and resources that help existing churches understand trauma and welcome back those who left.
THEN — IN PERSON
As the community grows, in-person gatherings across Middle Tennessee.
BEYOND — A SHARED MODEL
Documenting what works and sharing it, so any church can fold this care into its own discipleship.
Clinician-led. Board-governed.
Sarah Probst, LPC-S
Sarah is the founder of Pneuma Counseling & Neurofeedback in Mandeville, Louisiana, where she has led a multi-clinician trauma practice specializing in EMDR and neurofeedback; the founder of BrainParlor™, her trademarked neurofeedback brand; and the creator of Trauma Informed Christians, an educational initiative helping churches become trauma-informed. She founded The Pneuma Group to unite the two callings of her life: clinical excellence and Christian discipleship.
"I've had people unfriend me — in real life — just for asking them not to enforce the law in the church. Jesus reminded me that they hated Him first."
— Sarah, on why she keeps going · John 15:18
The Pneuma Group is governed by an independent Board of Directors.
Help build a place where healing is holy work.
Every gift launches counseling for vulnerable families, trauma recovery for survivors, and a community where no one has to choose between their faith and their healing.
Give Online
Secure online giving launches with our new accounts very soon. Want to give today? Email us and we'll make it easy.
Give TodayGive Through a Donor-Advised Fund
Recommend a grant to The Pneuma Group through your donor-advised fund — including the National Christian Foundation, The Signatry, or the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. Our legal name is The Pneuma Group, EIN 39-2460069, Nashville, Tennessee.
Become a Founding Partner
Join the families and leaders helping us launch — supporting our trauma-informed discipleship curriculum, leader training, and the resources we share with churches. We would love to share the full vision with you personally.
Start a ConversationThe Pneuma Group is a Tennessee nonprofit religious corporation (a church). Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. No goods or services are provided in exchange for donations unless otherwise noted.
Come as you are. Seriously.
The Pneuma Group
Nashville, Tennessee
Email: info@thepneumagroup.com
The Pneuma Group · Facebook Group
Clinicians, ministry leaders, and neighbors interested in the Nashville launch — we'd love to hear from you.
The Pneuma Group is not a crisis service. If you or someone you love is in immediate danger, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or dial 911.